Federal

Expert Analysis

• Why S Corporation Payments Are Almost Always Wages

  

  The recent U.S. Tax Court ruling in Lateesa Ward v. Commissioner has employment and income tax lessons about why payments from an S corporation to its sole shareholder are wages and not distributions of profit in most cases, says Bryan Camp at Texas Tech University School of Law.

• 3 Arthrex-Adjacent High Court Cases Could Affect PTAB's Fate

  

  As patent practitioners await a decision on the constitutionality of Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges in U.S. v. Arthrex, they should keep their eyes on three other pending U.S. Supreme Court cases that, while not IP-related, involve overlapping legal issues, including the severability doctrine, says William Milliken at Sterne Kessler.

• Surveying Global Tax Updates For Sovereign Wealth Investors

  

  As the market transitions to a post-pandemic phase, sovereign wealth fund and other foreign institutional investors must evaluate how recent U.S., EU and U.K. tax changes may affect their private fund investments, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Offshore Wind Push Is Good News For NYC Building Owners

  

  With a surge of federal and state support for offshore wind power in New York state, the projects now in development should greatly benefit New York City building owners seeking to comply with the city's Climate Mobilization Act, says Raymond Pomeroy at Stroock.

• Coke, 3M Tax Cases May Not Settle Blocked Income Debate

  

  Even if the challenged U.S. Department of the Treasury regulation on blocked income is struck down by the U.S. Tax Court in the pending Coca-Cola and 3M cases, the obligations of a taxpayer that had, but failed to avail itself of, alternative means to secure payment will remain an open question, say Matthew Frank and Amanda Varma at Steptoe & Johnson.

• OCC Rule Misaligned With Some Tax Equity Safe Harbors

  

  The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's recently finalized rule on national banks' participation in tax equity financings aligns with safe harbor guidance for renewable energy investments, but not with safe harbor structures for historic preservation and carbon capture tax credits, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.

• IRS Should Level The Field For R&D Tax Credits

  

  A recent increase in denials of research and development tax credits to small businesses in the architectural, engineering and construction community shows the Internal Revenue Service should issue new guidance to ensure a fair playing field and an opportunity to continue innovating in the U.S., says Julio Gonzalez at Engineered Tax Services.

• IRS Should Revise Private Debt Collection Methodology

  

  To fulfill the congressional intent underlying the Taxpayer First Act, which aims to protect delinquent taxpayers from entering into payment plans they cannot afford, the Internal Revenue Service should use both last-return-filed and third-party income information in its methodology for identifying low-income taxpayers, says National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins.

• Applying OECD Guidance On COVID-19 Transfer Pricing

  

  In light of the recently released Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's guidance on the transfer pricing implications of the pandemic, taxpayers should be prepared to explain and defend their transfer pricing decisions for fiscal year 2020 for contemporaneous documentation and in future tax audits, say Susan Fickling and TJ Michaelson at Duff & Phelps.

• A Tough Road Ahead for Democrats' Ambitious Policy Agenda

  

  While Democrats in Congress are well on their way to enacting an initial COVID-19 relief bill, they will face challenges when pivoting to President Joe Biden's Build Back Better goals for job creation and economic revitalization, say Russell Sullivan and Radha Mohan at Brownstein Hyatt.

• Coca-Cola Tax Ruling Offers 5 Lessons For Multinationals

  

  The U.S. Tax Court's decision that Coca-Cola owes more than $3.3 billion in taxes is instructive on important transfer pricing concepts, including those regarding intercompany agreements, the arm's-length standard and tax certainty, says ​​​​​​​Justin Radziewicz at Duff & Phelps.

• Small Biz Should Self-Advocate For Tax Relief Under Biden

  

  Small and medium-sized businesses have significant potential for achieving regulatory relief from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and other federal agencies during the Biden administration, but to do so they must define their priorities, leverage two federal statutes that require the Treasury to protect them and make their voices heard through communal e-advocacy, says Monte Silver at Silver & Co.

• SD Ruling Threatens Marijuana Legalization Momentum

  

  A South Dakota state court decision in Thom v. Barnett, invalidating a state constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana, serves as a reminder that legalization efforts at any level could meet some resistance, says David Standa at Locke Lord.